Preeclampsia (PE) is the leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. It complicates around 2%–10% pregnancies worldwide due to imbalance between proangiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors, leading to incomplete placentation, ischemia, and endothelial dysfunction. The study was aimed to analyze the mRNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors, i.e., VEGF receptor-1 (VEGFR-1), VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2), and soluble Fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) from maternal peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of PE patients. This was a cross-sectional comparative study comprising 18 normotensive and 18 PE patients; the patients were further divided as early-onset preeclampsia (EOP) and late-onset preeclampsia (LOP). The expression level of VEGF, its receptors (VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2), and sFlt-1 was investigated using real-time polymerase chain reaction. There was a significant change in the mRNA expression with a decrease in VEGF, VEGFR-1, and VEGFR-2 and an increase in sFlt-1 in PBMCs of PE and normal pregnancies (P < 0.001). sFlt-1 mRNA expression was increased by 2.95-fold in the PE group with an inverse correlation with expression of VEGFR-2 (Spearman's rho = 0.68). Based on these findings, we conclude that PE is associated with decrease in the mRNA expression of VEGF, VEGFR-1, and VEGFR-2 as compared to an increase in sFlt-1 in PBMCs.

Objective: To measure the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) mRNA expression of placental growth factor (PlGF), Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-), and soluble Endoglin (sEng) in the blood of preeclamptic and normotensive pregnant women.

Background The significance of investigation for diagnosing and managing thyroid dysfunction in pregnant females has been extensively documented in the medical literature. This study aimed to determine trimester-specific reference ranges for thyroid-stimulating hormones (TSH), free T3 (FT3), and free T4 (FT4) in apparently healthy pregnant women attending tertiary care hospitals in Lahore. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted at two tertiary care Hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan. In this multi-centric study, 500 pregnant females were initially enrolled from September 2019 to December 2019 who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. For measurement of serum FT3, FT4, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO), and thyroglobulin antibodies, 5 ml of the blood sample was drawn, under aseptic conditions, from each subject using Maglumi 800 chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) system. Results Out of 500 subjects, 23 subjects with positive anti-TPO, 19 subjects with anti-TG antibodies, and 12 subjects due to less volume of serum yielded from whole blood (serum less than 3 ml) were excluded from the analysis. Ten samples were hemolyzed and not included in the analysis. A total of 436 samples were examined for analysis. Of the remaining 436 subjects, 133 (30.5%) were from 1st trimester, 153 (35.1%) from 2nd trimester, and 150 (34.4%) from 3rd trimester. As the data were non-normal, the 2.5th, 50th, and 97.5th percentiles were calculated to express each group's results. Trimester specific range of TSH 0.168-4.294, 0.258-4.584 and 0.341-4.625 mIU/mL, FT31.857-4.408, 1.958-4.621 and 2.025-4.821 pmol/L and FT4 8.815-18.006, 8.306-17.341 and 7.402-17.292 pmol/L. Conclusion In this study, we established a trimester-specific reference range for our local population's thyroid function test. The results of this study have complemented the results of previous studies.

Globally more than a million sexually transmitted infections occur daily, and over 53 000 [47,000–60,000] women aged 15 and over were living with human immunodeficiency virus / acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in Pakistan by the year 2020. This situation becomes graver when the sexually transmitted infections exist as co-infections while remaining undiagnosed or under-diagnosed. Additionally, herpetic or papillomavirus lesions are more recurrent, more extensive and have more serious consequences in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients. Literature shows a dramatic increase in morbidity and mortality due to the occurrence of malignancies in genital co-infections. There is a key concern that every single adolescent female living in Pakistan is at a high risk of acquiring viral sexually transmitted infections along with malignancy of the cervix. ---Continue